The Later Days
by Kip336
Summary: A Kataang/Tokka fanfic, just after the end of the world war that entied all the 4 nations. But more problems are on the horizon for the gAang. My first fanfic ever. Watch how my writing gets better in the so far 14 chapters!
1. Going to the Market

**Ok. This is my first attempt at writing an Fan Fiction EVER. I started it around December 2****nd ****2007, with virtually 0 writing skills.**

**Now, mid june 2008, Im writing chapter 14, with greatly increased writing skills. My writing style changes in the story, to suit my skills getting better.**

**Anyhow, I don't own anything of Avatar, or anything avatar related. Except for this story. Enjoy. Please leave reviews, and ill upload the completed chapters daily.**

It was a warm day with few winds, and some nice white fluffy clouds. A great day for flying. Its been a few weeks since they defeated the great fire lord Ozai, and the gaang faced the difficulties of accepting yet another new team member, Zuko. But still, the lives of the gaang continued. As Sokka and the rest of the invasion army "cleaned" up the Fire nation from the remains of the Fire Lords army, Aang and Katara set off to find an nearby village for food.

Aang jumped on Appa, to check if they where ready to go. Just before Katara and Aang left, Sokka ran towards them "Hey! Wait up! Where are you going!" Aang jumped of Appa, and walked towards Sokka. "We gotta get some food for us." He said while Appa licked Sokka to greet him. Aang smiled "Hold on buddy, we'll leave in a minute". Aang didn't really want to go shopping. He had something completely different in mind - Taking a break, and think about the past few days. Sokka looked at Appa. "Yea. Thanks for the greeting. Blegh." Sokka turned back to Aang, who was still grinning at him "Oh yea yea. You guys are so funny. But you don't need Appa to get food do you? The market is just a few block away in this village!"

Aang looked to the ground, and kicked a small pebble away. Should he really tell Sokka about his plans? He knew Sokka could use the rest, besides. Him Katara and Sokka, out on a side track just like "the old days" . No. He also needed to be alone for a while, with Katara. He looked up again to Sokka "Yea I know, but we want to get something special, like uuhhm...Meat.. NO wait! Custard Pie! Yes, Custard Pie..you know I like them." Sokka brightened up "Ok, I'll pack my stuff and then we go get some custard pie for you!" Aang startled. How would he talk himself out of this..."Yes, but don't they need you here? To help kick the rest of the Fire Nation soldiers out of here?"

This time Sokka looked down, sobbing. " Alright I get it. You don't want the always sarcastic meat guy around, else he will plan up all the things and ruin all fun" Sokka sighed. Aang knew Sokka had a point, and felt bad for him. " Well the thing is Sokka. Me and Kata –"

" Sokka! Come on! the army is waiting for you!" Yelled sokka's father at the other side of the garden. Aang smiled "See, they need you" Sokka smiled after he heard the comment..He turned to his father and waved, hold on! Be right there. " Soo, what did you wanted to say about you and katara?" He said while grinning at Aang. Aang blushed a bit " Uhm yea. Oh uhm. Nothing. Your father is waiting! Go!" Sokka turned around and ran towards his father, while running he looked around to Aang one last time, and waved. Aang sighed and jumped on top of Appa. " You can come, he's gone" he said to Katara hiding behind Appa. Appa stood up as soon as Katara was on board..

" Yip Yip!"Said Aang, as they soared off into the blue skies with fluffy clouds..


	2. Swimming

**As promised, Here is the 2****nd**** Chapter of my FanFiction.  
Maybe I'll publish my story once in a PDF book, but I need to rewrite the chapters XD**

**Anyhow, enjoy the chapter, be sure to review, and to pass on the fanfic to all your friends ;)**

"**Chapter 2: Swimming."**

As Appa soared through the sky, Aang jumped of his neck, and took a seat next to Katara on Appa's back. Katara was only half awake looking at the clouds. She inhaled the fresh air deeply. "Hey Aang." She looked at Aang, who sat still in amazement, looking in her deep blue eyes. She had the same look as when she freed him from the iceberg. Aang shook his head. "Hey Katara, there is something I want you to tell." Katara's eyes drifted back to the clouds. Aang looked at the clouds too, "I know Aang" Aang turned back to Katara, as his smile grew bigger and bigger "You do!?" he asked cheerfully. Katara looked to Aang for a moment, before drifting off in the clouds again. "Yes...Those clouds are so beautiful." Aang's mind went empty as he blinked a few times Well...Uhm...yea...I guess so." He mumbled. He turned around and made his way to Appa's neck "Remember the first time you took me and Sokka on Appa? First he couldn't fly...but once he could. It was all so beautiful. Too bad we didn't have any time to stop, and look at the scenery"

Katara looked around. She noticed that Aang went back to Appa's neck. "Aang? Aang! What wrong?" Aang closed his eyes and ignored Katara. "Awh Come on Aang! Tell me what's wrong!" Aang turned his head away from Katara. "No... Never mind. I'll tell later when we land" Katara looked at Aang's bold head. Yes, when do we land? We have passed several villages now". She replied to Aang. "I figured we could do some side tracking, like you said when we first met."

Katara laid down on Appa's back, to watch the clouds again, as she fall asleep. Aang soon saw the perfect spot to land. It was a small open field, with a lake on one side, and a mountain with a cave on the other side. The field itself was grassy, with some flowers spread over it. He steered Appa to land near a bush. He jumped off Appa and looked around. Yes, this would be the perfect spot for some rest. As he didn't want to wake up Katara - yet, he unpacked and set up the camp as quiet as possible. He checked the water supplies and saw the flasks where empty. He took the flasks and walked to the lake.

The lake was not very big. It had a small waterfall on one side, and ended up in a stream on the other. The water was clear, and Aang could see the fish swimming in it. He kneeled down next to the lake and opened the first Flask. As soon as he held the flask underwater to fill it, he got thrown into the water. "Don't start the fun without me!" Katara yelled. She jumped in the water with Aang. He threw the flask back on shore, and started swimming away from the big wave of water that Katara unleashed at him.

Soon they were tired from all the swimming. Aang dragged himself up on the shore and laid down on his back, looking in the air. His feet still hanging in the water. Katara also dragged herself up on shore. They laid there for hours talking about almost everything they could think of. Soon the sun began to set, although they didn't mind seeing the moon and the stars, they did mind about seeing the big grey clouds coming towards them. It became quiet when they saw the clouds. Aang was the first to break the silence; "Hey Katara" Katara looked at Aang, who was still watching the grey clouds. "I think it is better if we get inside the cave and make a campfire there...before it starts to rain" She silently agreed by nodding. Aang looked at Katara. They gazed into each other's eyes, completely forgetting about the world around them. After a while they got reminded they were still outside, as it started to rain. Katara smiled. "Let's get inside before we catch a cold" she said. A few minutes after she said that, it began to rain even harder. Katara was the first to stand up. She took the flasks and turned towards the cave. When she saw Aang didn't stand up, she gently poked him in the ribs with here feed, and walked away. Aang looked up one more time, and went into the cave as well...


	3. Caves and Dreams

**The 3th Chapter of my Fan Fic. Sorry for taking so long with posting it, had a rough week. Anyhow, be sure to leave comments, and be sure to spread out the fanfic to all you avatar and Kataang friends. Oh, also spread it to Zutara fans, and turn them Kataang (XD)**

**I don't own avatar, except for this avatar story.**

--A loud boom woke Aang up. His whole body was covered in sweat, and he was breathing heavily. He looked to his left and saw that Katara was still asleep. Just when his breathing was turning back to normal, a flash filled the night sky, and turned it all blue for a small second. The flash got followed by another boom. This time, Aang jumped up and screamed. He dressed himself, and grabbed his glider. As he walked to the cave entrance, he got reminded by the day he got trapped in the iceberg, for a hundred years. It was a cold stormy night, with lots of wind and rain. Just like tonight. He held his staff more firmly as he inhaled deeply. "Mmmm Aang, don't leave where are you going mmmmm" Said Katara behind him. Aang quickly turned around, to find Katara was dreaming. A smile appeared on his face as he whispered to her: I'm not leaving Katara, don't worry He turned around once more and walked out of the cave...

Within seconds, Aang was rained wet completely. He made himself up the mountain, as high as possible. When he got up, he saw that he couldn't see as far as he hoped. But it didn't matter for what he wanted. He sat down and started meditating. Hoping it would relax him a bit. He knew he wouldn't have much time to meditate when he got back, or even when he finally managed to talk to Katara, without her being distracted.

Katara was still dreaming. She and Aang where practicing some water bending in the deep part of the lake when Aang swimmed away "Aang, don't leave, where are you going Aang didn't respond and kept swimming. He jumped out of the water onto a sloped part of the shore. He turned around to Katara and smiled. He jumped up in the air and used his air bending skills to get even higher. He laughed at Katara as he fell back to earth, into the water. As he touched the water, he used his water bending skills to make the splashes even bigger, sending a big wave. Katara screamed out from fun. Suddenly her dream was all over. She woke up, and sat right up. Still half asleep, she checked Aang's sleeping bag if he was still sleeping. She didn't really notice he was gone, until she saw his clothes where gone.

She got out of her sleeping bag, and put on her clothes. She walked to the exit of the cave and tried looking for Aang in the bad weather. She shivered as the cold rain started to hit her. "Aang, AANG! Where are you?" She stamped with her foot on the ground. "Aang! where are you! She sobbed.

Aang opened his eyes and returned back to the normal world, as he heard somewhere screaming his name. He tried listening where it came from, but didn't here it anymore. Just as he wanted to continue meditating, he heard it again "Aang! Where are you?" It was Katara. He waited a few seconds before standing up, and jumped down. He landed just before a sobbing Katara. "Oh Katara" He said while blushing slightly. This time is was his time to be "motherly". Katara looked in his eyes. "Time to come inside Katara, you'll catch a cold" Aang said, trying to hide his smile. Katara also blushed when he said it. She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.


	4. The Fire Nation Raid: Part 1

**Ok. Chapter 4. Not sure what to put in my small disclaimer. I still don't own Avatar, but I'm going to work on a Aang Firenation co splay…ill have arrows and a headband as well. My writing improves a bit again, and it'll be cool**

**Chapter 4: The Fire Nation Raid: Part 1.**

The rain kept on going as Katara and Aang as they sat close to each other inside the small cold cave, to keep each other warm. When they went inside in the afternoon they completely forgot to make a campfire. They never thought about it because they fell asleep long before dark. And now, in the middle of the night, in a small dark cave they didn't have any light, and no place to warm their hands. Both Katara and Aang shivered from the cold. Aang was wondering if he should come and sit closer to Katara to keep them warm. Before he could even do it, Katara took the action and put her arms around Aang. b"Its-s so C-Cold-d-d"/b She said. Aang could only nod as an reaction. He knew Katara was more resistant against the could because she lived at the north pole. Aang followed Katara's example and put his arms around her.

They almost fell asleep like this, until another boom waked them up again. b"Woah! what was that?!"/b Aang said. He stood up and took his glider. He looked at Katara and ran to the exit of the cave to see what was happening. b"Aang, are you sure there was a boom?"/b Said Katara. She clearly wasn't in the right mood for action now. b"Come on Katara! Something Happened down there and we have to check it out!"/b Aang said, this time a little bit annoyed

In the dark, Katara checked her bags to find her flask of water, so she would always carry some water with her to water bend with. As soon as she found it she attached the flask to her belt and walked to Aang. They both walked out of the cave, and headed from where they heard the boom. It was raining harder then before, which made it more difficult to see anything. The moon was covered behind the clouds so there wasn't any light from that. They couldt barely see anything. They kept on moving and quickly came across the little stream near the lake, but the many rain changed it into a dangerous fast running stream. Aang used his earth bending to pull up some stones so they could safely pass the stream. Katara went over the stones first and made it fine.

A wind shear surprised Aang when he was almost across, and pushed him into the water. He stream directly got a hold of Aang and took him downstream. b"Katara!"/b he yelled. b"Katara help me!"/b. Katara turned around. b"Aang!!"/b She ran along with Aang in the water, trying to keep up with him. b"Hold on Aang!"/b She used all her force to try and freeze the river. It didn't work completely, but it slowed the stream enough for Aang to get to shore. b"Aang! are you ok?"/b She asked as he dragged himself up the shore. Aang coughed up some water. b"I'm alright Katara. But the water. It's so cold"/b he said while shivering heavily. Aang laid down for a few moments to regain some of his power and stood up. They could hear another boom, but this time it was much louder and closer to them. b"It can't be far away"/b Katara said with a determined voice. Aang used his air bending skills to dry his clothes a bit. Although he knew it didn't help, because of the rain it felt a little bit warmer without all the cold water in his clothes. Aang took the lead and ran towards the boom again. As soon as they passed a small hill, they could see what was happening.

Fire Nation. Some remaining soldiers from the Fire Nation where apparently causing trouble in the town. Although it was in the middle of the night, the villagers and the Fire Nation soldiers where gathered around the market place . A Fire Nation tank was also on the market place. Aang and Katara could see how one of the soldiers apparently took lead, and shouted against the villagers. The commander, hold his open hand up. As he grinned, he closed his hand into a fist, signaling the tank to fire. A second later a big fireball emerged from it, and shot toward one of the buildings. It exploded with great force, and much debris got thrown around the market place. A big grin appeared on the face of the commander, as a few of the villagers dropped to their knees in despair, and started crying for mercy.

Aang looked at Katara, as they both nodded to each other. Aang opened his glider. b"Hold on tight Katara"/b He said as he lend her a hand. She took Aangs hand, and a moment later they where airborne, heading straight toward the village. As they approached the village, the commander of the Fire Nation soldiers shouted more at the villagers. Sang flew a circle around the market place to estimate the number of soldiers. One of the villagers pointed up in the sky and shouted toward the other villagers. Soon everybody looked up, and all villagers cheered. Aang landed between the villagers and the amazed Fire Nation soldiers.


	5. The Fire Nation Raid: Part II

**Ok. Chapter 4. Not sure what to put in my small disclaimer. I still don't own Avatar, but I'm going to work on a Aang Firenation co splay…ill have arrows and a headband as well. My writing improves a bit again, and it'll be cool**

**Chapter 4: The Fire Nation Raid: Part 1.**

The rain kept on going as Katara and Aang as they sat close to each other inside the small cold cave, to keep each other warm. When they went inside in the afternoon they completely forgot to make a campfire. They never thought about it because they fell asleep long before dark. And now, in the middle of the night, in a small dark cave they didn't have any light, and no place to warm their hands. Both Katara and Aang shivered from the cold. Aang was wondering if he should come and sit closer to Katara to keep them warm. Before he could even do it, Katara took the action and put her arms around Aang. b"Its-s so C-Cold-d-d"/b She said. Aang could only nod as an reaction. He knew Katara was more resistant against the could because she lived at the north pole. Aang followed Katara's example and put his arms around her.

They almost fell asleep like this, until another boom waked them up again. b"Woah! what was that?!"/b Aang said. He stood up and took his glider. He looked at Katara and ran to the exit of the cave to see what was happening. b"Aang, are you sure there was a boom?"/b Said Katara. She clearly wasn't in the right mood for action now. b"Come on Katara! Something Happened down there and we have to check it out!"/b Aang said, this time a little bit annoyed

In the dark, Katara checked her bags to find her flask of water, so she would always carry some water with her to water bend with. As soon as she found it she attached the flask to her belt and walked to Aang. They both walked out of the cave, and headed from where they heard the boom. It was raining harder then before, which made it more difficult to see anything. The moon was covered behind the clouds so there wasn't any light from that. They couldt barely see anything. They kept on moving and quickly came across the little stream near the lake, but the many rain changed it into a dangerous fast running stream. Aang used his earth bending to pull up some stones so they could safely pass the stream. Katara went over the stones first and made it fine.

A wind shear surprised Aang when he was almost across, and pushed him into the water. He stream directly got a hold of Aang and took him downstream. b"Katara!"/b he yelled. b"Katara help me!"/b. Katara turned around. b"Aang!!"/b She ran along with Aang in the water, trying to keep up with him. b"Hold on Aang!"/b She used all her force to try and freeze the river. It didn't work completely, but it slowed the stream enough for Aang to get to shore. b"Aang! are you ok?"/b She asked as he dragged himself up the shore. Aang coughed up some water. b"I'm alright Katara. But the water. It's so cold"/b he said while shivering heavily. Aang laid down for a few moments to regain some of his power and stood up. They could hear another boom, but this time it was much louder and closer to them. b"It can't be far away"/b Katara said with a determined voice. Aang used his air bending skills to dry his clothes a bit. Although he knew it didn't help, because of the rain it felt a little bit warmer without all the cold water in his clothes. Aang took the lead and ran towards the boom again. As soon as they passed a small hill, they could see what was happening.

Fire Nation. Some remaining soldiers from the Fire Nation where apparently causing trouble in the town. Although it was in the middle of the night, the villagers and the Fire Nation soldiers where gathered around the market place . A Fire Nation tank was also on the market place. Aang and Katara could see how one of the soldiers apparently took lead, and shouted against the villagers. The commander, hold his open hand up. As he grinned, he closed his hand into a fist, signaling the tank to fire. A second later a big fireball emerged from it, and shot toward one of the buildings. It exploded with great force, and much debris got thrown around the market place. A big grin appeared on the face of the commander, as a few of the villagers dropped to their knees in despair, and started crying for mercy.

Aang looked at Katara, as they both nodded to each other. Aang opened his glider. b"Hold on tight Katara"/b He said as he lend her a hand. She took Aangs hand, and a moment later they where airborne, heading straight toward the village. As they approached the village, the commander of the Fire Nation soldiers shouted more at the villagers. Sang flew a circle around the market place to estimate the number of soldiers. One of the villagers pointed up in the sky and shouted toward the other villagers. Soon everybody looked up, and all villagers cheered. Aang landed between the villagers and the amazed Fire Nation soldiers.


	6. The Thought Chakra

**And another chapter of The Later days. Chapter 5. Even though Fan says its Chapter 6, it is 5! Just…5! I had a chapter 4 Part I, and chapter 4 Part II.**

**I still don't own anything from Avatar, except a cool cosplay! But I made that myself. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5: The thought Chakra**

"What have we got here? First we have a city full of traitors. And then the avatar comes to save the village?" The Fire Nation commander said with a loud voice. It was still raining, and by the looks of it, it would continue raining for a while. Aang smiled at the Fire Nation Commander. "Leave those villagers alone" he said with a desperate voice. Rain drops where running down his face, but he was too concentrated on the Fire Nation commander to even care about it. The commander grinned at Aang. "And why should I do so? You don't stand a chance against us! You are outnumbered greatly" Aang frowned. The commander did have a point, they were outnumbered. Even for Aang there where a just a bit too much Fire Nation people. "Because I am the avatar. You leave those innocent villagers alone!" He replied agitated. The commander raised his eyebrows.

He looked to one of the soldiers next to him. For a moment they looked at each other and then started laughing. "Innocent? Innocent?! These villagers are traitors to the Fire Nation! They helped a group of earth and water benders hiding for us." Aang startled. Earth and Water Benders. He knew Hakoda en Sokka wouldn't just send a group of earth and water benders into a valley filled with Fire Nation. The commander was either lying, or...There were more friendly soldiers here. He quickly looked at Katara. She also looked startled. "Did you hear that?" she whispered at Aang. He could barely hear her because of the wind and the rain; he nodded to Katara and turned back.

Just a few minutes ago, Aang was full of self confidence, but not anymore, while Aang and the Commander where taunting at each other, more and more Fire Nation soldiers grouped up at the market place. Aang now knew for sure they would lose a direct confrontation with the Fire Nation army, it where just plain to many Fire nation soldiers. "What's going on? Aren't we that though anymore?" Aang bended through his knees a bit and thought about what Toph learned him. He quickly looked at Katara. She also bended through her knees a bit and nodded at Aang. "Good. Have it your way then, Avatar." The commander said. As he said that, a group of fire benders walked forward, and took a position in front of their commander. A second later their fireball hurled through the rainy sky. Aang and Katara waited for the right moment, before throwing up a shield of water.

But before they could do that, a wall of earth jumped up in front of the Fireballs. The fireballs exploded the moment they hit the wall. Aang and Katara jumped up and looked behind them. On the hill behind them where Toph, Sokka, Hakoda and the other soldiers including some water benders and earth benders. Sokka and Hakoda where in front, with their arms crossed. Toph was still in her earth bending stance. A big grin appeared on their faces. "We thought you could use some help" Sokka yelled. Katara and Aang laughed nervously. "Uhm...Yes...we could..." Katara replied. At that moment, the earth wall broke up from another fireball attack from the firebenders. "No time to talk! We got to get those Fire Nation soldiers out of the town!" Aang said with regained hope. Sokka, Hakoda Toph and the rest of the battalion came running down to the hill, preparing them for the fight.

Katara and Aang took the change while the Fire Nation looked in awe how the battalion came running down the hill. They waterbended the rain into a big ball of water, and sent it hurling through the sky to take out the first, and probably most dangerous target, the Fire Nation tank. The crew inside the tank where distracted by the big battalion of enemy waterbenders and earth benders and where working on shooting as much fireballs to them as possible. They didn't see the threat of the fireball coming. The waterball hit the tank from the side and threw it on its side.

Fire balls where raining down between the eartbenders and waterbenders as they tried to advance towards the Fire Nation soldiers. Although there were just a few Fire benders on the Fire Nation side, it where enough to slow down the advance, and force them into defending themselves. The earthbenders started pulling rocks out of the ground, and hurled them towards the fireballs. The waterbenders started collecting the rain with their waterbending skills, and threw the waterballs at the Fire Nation soldiers, slowing their firebending. The Fire Nation commander quickly saw how the normal soldiers where just awaiting for the enemy battalion, so he ordered them to advance as well, forcing the water and earth benders into man to man combat.

Just a minute ago Katara and Aang where completely outnumbered, now both armies where even, and a big battle erupted. Sokka pulled out his sword while he was still running down the hill together with the rest of the soldiers. He could see how the Fire Nation soldiers also started charging towards them. Finally he got his chance as well. Toph also followed him. Although she couldn't see the incoming fireballs, she could see the Fire Benders in their bending stances. She kept throwing rocks at them, taking them out. Seconds later the soldiers from the Firenation, and the soldiers from Sokka's battalion ran into each other. While keeping off the fire nation soldiers he made his way over towards Aang and Katara, who were completely surrounded.

The market place turned into a chaos, with the sounds of weapons hitting each other everywhere. Katara waterbended a whip and started whipping as much as she could. "Katara Watch out!" yelled Sokka behind her. Aang stopped blasting air at the firenation soldiers, and turned around to help Katara. As he turned around, it seemed like time slowed down, and everything faded. The sounds of weapons clashing each other faded away, and the soldiers around them faded to big grey shadows. He lifted up his hands, and pushed them forward, sending a blast of air towards the fire nation soldier. But he was too late. The Firenation soldier struck his sword, hitting Katara in her back. "Katara no!" Aang screamed in disbelief. He felt a pain in his heart he never felt before, not even when he saw Monk Ghats's bones in the Southern Air Temple. She looked at him like she was going to ask what was happening. Her emotionless deep blue eyes locked with Aang's eyes. Then she began falling, and her eyes opened wider and wider, but her pupils became smaller. Aang's heart started beating faster and faster every second as he looked how Katara fell forward to the ground, to stay there, motionless. Her eyes stared into the nothing. Somewhere in the distant he could hear voices yell his name. The voices came closer and closer, but where still far away.

All of the sudden he heard a loud voice yelling his name "Aang! Aang! Come on!" The slow grey shadows fast forwarded for a second, and then turned back to normal humans, and the sounds of weapons clashing against each other came back, as Aang blinked a few times. "Aang! Wake up!" He saw Sokka standing in front of him. He looked over Sokka's shoulders, and saw Katara laying down, staring into nothing. A tear welled up in his eyes. He still wasn't completely back. He just stood there motionless. "Aang!" He shook his head, and started to realize what was happening. "Aang? You ok. Come on. There is nothing we can do about her, now. First we got to hold off the Fire Nation" Aang nodded. He suddenly remembered what guru Pathik said to him. "The Thought chakra is located at the crown of the head. It deals with pure cosmic energy and is blocked by earthly attachment. Meditate on what attaches you to this world. Now, let all of those attachments go. Let them flow down the river. Forgotten.". He turned around to see Sokka fighting a Fire Nation soldier. Aang kicked on the ground, to send a rock hurling through the sky towards the soldier.


	7. Zyaka

**And this is the chapter where I finally settle in with a plot, and from here on, it gets cooler! Again, I only own an avatar cosplay, not the actual show, or anything else..Sucks.**

**Chapter 6: Zyaka.**

Walking over to a tree, Aang sat down underneath it and crossed his legs. He laid the back of his opened palms on his knees, and took a moment to focus on his breathing. The bad weather from the past few days had finally cleared up, and had been replaced by a slightly windy but comfortable atmosphere. Aang squinted up at the sky and could barely make out a few stormy clouds drifting away from the valley. Looking back down, he straightened his back and closed his eyes. He concentrated on hard on his breathing as he cleared his mind of all thoughts. The melody of the birds chirping above him in the tree faded away as Aang went deeper into his meditation.

Back inside the building, Sokka and Toph knocked on Katara's door. Zyaka had finally allowed Katara to get out of bed for a short while and the two were eager to visit her.  
"Just a minute," Katara called while she carefully got out of bed and slipped into her clothes. She made sure her clothes were comfortable, especially by the wound on her back. "Ok, you can come in now," she called to Toph and Sokka. She smiled as the two entered the room, but her face fell when she saw Aang wasn't with them. "Where is he?" she asked as soon as they were over the threshold.  
Sokka chuckled darkly, obviously realizing whom the 'he' Katara was referring to was. "I don't know. I haven't seen him today. He was already gone when we woke up."  
Katara looked down, away from Toph and Sokka.  
"He did seem pretty… upset yesterday when I saw him." Toph said looking sympathetically in what she hoped was Katara's direction. Instead of copying Toph's sympathy, Sokka looked down at his stomach. "Well, whatever. Aang will be fine. I think. But we won't if we don't get some food. I'm starving," he said before turning back to the door.

"What!?" Katara cried out, staring at Sokka in disbelief. "Aang is in complete despair, he goes missing, and all you can think about your stomach!"  
Toph raised her eyebrows, but Sokka spoke. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. I'm hungry. And Aang will be fine like he always is. I don't know…I'm just hungry!" he said, sighing and looking down at his sister. Katara clenched her teeth. "Fine! You go eat! I'm going to search for Aang! Come on, Toph." Toph looked in Katara's direction, and then turned to Sokka and then back. "Well….actually…I don't know, Katara! I'm hungry too, but Aang is gone and I just can't eat while he's missing. Did you even see him yesterday, Sokka?"  
Scowling slightly, Sokka admitted defeat. They had a point, he thought. Aang wasn't the cheerful Airbender they had found in the iceberg anymore. He was completely devastated. Sokka sighed. "Alright, let's go find Aang. But only if we go get food afterwards". Katara smiled, nodding at her brother in agreement as they left the room to search for Aang.

Aang blinked his eyes open and closed a few times. He looked confusedly around the garden, wondering why he had stopped meditating. He rubbed his hands together, and held them against his face for a few seconds. Something changed, but he didn't know what. He carefully stood up and took a step forward. He could see that the good weather had disappeared and the sky was full of big black clouds again. "Huh?" he mumbled, then turning around to find his own body still sitting cross-legged beneath the tree. He frowned. How did he get in the spirit world? He didn't even want to go there. Suddenly he heard a mixture of familiar voices coming from below the hill. He stood up and strode over to see Katara, Sokka and Toph walking up the hill towards his body.  
"Aang? Aang? Wake up." Katara said as the little group reached his body. As they stood around him, Sokka carefully poked Aang on his head. He frowned when Aang didn't reply. "Ok. He's fine. He's only meditating." Sokka said, oblivious to what was going on. However, Toph leaned over towards Sokka and punched him in the arm.  
"Hey. What did you do that for?" he said while rubbing his upper arm in the pain. Toph just sighed.  
"Aang? Wake up!" Katara said to the prone figure in front of her again.

Aang looked over and waved at Katara. "I'm right here!" he called. Then he looked down at the ground. "Of course. I'm in the spirit world. You can't hear me," he mumbled to no one in particular. He stamped his feet on the ground in anger. "Argh! I want to go back to the normal world!"  
Katara took a seat in front of his body. She crossed her legs like Aang had done and stared at his arrows.  
"Katara?" Katara looked up to Sokka, a bit startled. "Huh? Oh yeah." she mumbled. "Sitting and staring at him won't help much." Katara said gloomily. "I know. You can go and get some food if you want too. I'll stay with Aang until he wakes up." she offered.  
Sokka stared at her for a second, and then smiled. "Finally. We get to eat!" he said cheerfully, punching his fist in the air.  
"What about the healer-lady-person-thing? Will she approve?" Toph asked. Katara thought about it for a moment, and then sighed. "I don't actually. My back twinges a little now and again, but I can't leave Aang here alone." she admitted.  
"We'll figure something out," Toph said with a sly smile.  
"Hey, Toph, come on!" Sokka shouted. He was already at the bottom of the hill, waiting for Toph to join him. Katara smiled to herself as Toph turned around and walked down the hill towards Sokka.

Aang looked over at Katara. She was still sitting in front of his body, but no matter what he tried, he couldn't return to the normal world. Why was he even in the spirit world? He didn't want to be there.  
Again, Katara stared at Aang without knowing the problem. "I know these are rough times for you, Aang, but you can't keep moping about it. It's rough for everyone, for Sokka, for Toph. Even I am having a rough time. I know you feel guilty about me getting hurt, but…but…I don't want you to," she said. A small shining tear welled up in her eye.  
Aang looked down at his feet. She was right. They where all having a difficult time, but he really was the only one doing nothing about it.  
Katara continued, "I don't want you to feel guilty. It was supposed to happen. And…" she paused for a moment, and looked away from Aang, her cheeks turning red. She wasn't sure if she should say it. But before she could even think about it, she spoke. "And because I love you, Aang." she confessed in a whisper. Now, for just a moment, she hoped he really was meditating, and not by any chance listening.  
Aang blinked. Did he actually hear Katara say that? Did he? He had been in love with her ever since he got out of the iceberg last year, but he never really believed it would work out between them. Katara gazed at Aang's closed eyes. Aang, still in spirit form, walked over and sat down next to Katara, leaned forward to reach her ears. "I love you too, Katara." he whispered.

He knew she couldn't hear it, but he still told her. Just then though, Katara carefully stretched her hands out and grabbed his fists, which he was firmly holding together with the two arrows pointing at each other. A stream of energy started surging through Aang's body, towards his hands, and then flowed into Katara's hands. She also felt a surge of energy going towards her hands. It was a weird feeling, but not in a bad way. She closed her eyes and relaxed, letting the energy flow through her whole body. Aang and Katara's hearts both started beating faster and faster, and everything started fading into darkness. Soon Aang couldn't see anything anymore. He could only feel how his heart was beating rapidly, and how the energy surged through his body.

After a few minutes, the feeling started to ebb away and Aang opened his eyes slowly. He saw Katara sitting front of him, holding his fists. "Huh? Katara?" he mumbled.  
Katara quickly opened her own eyes, and realized that Aang had gotten out of his meditating state. "Aang!" she said in surprise. Aang smiled and looked at her hands, still holding his fists. Katara blushed and let go of his hands. The energy that had been surging through their bodies' moments before died away, and Katara returned the smile nervously. "Ummmm."

After a second, Katara's smile faded away, but Aang kept grinning. "Was your meditation okay?" was the only thing she could think of asking him. Aang leaned forward and put his arms around her, and laid his head in her shoulders as a reply. Katara blinked before putting her arms around him as well. Aang leaned back out of the hug, and put his arms on his lap. "Yes. It went well. Couldn't have been better." he said, smiling again.  
Katara raised an eyebrow a little, but then…. "Katara? Asked Aang, his cheeks turning red. Katara nodded expectantly, waiting for him to continue.  
"I-I" he said, stumbling over his words. "I love you too."  
Katara's eyes widened. "What?" she asked, still a bit confused about the past few minutes.  
"I love you." Aang confessed, and then leaned back over towards Katara. He wrapped his arms around her, and then looked at her for another moment. They both smiled at each other. It was like the world around them disappeared. It was just the two of them, together in their own world. Katara also wrapped her arms around Aang, and leaned forward to meet his face. Aang gently kissed Katara on her lips. Katara's cheeks turned bright red, but she did not resist. Suddenly, the moment was shattered when somebody came walking up the hill, shouting at to them. "Katara! Where are you!"


End file.
